The expansion of Criminal Law and the crime of racial injury: protection as a form of inclusion in the legal system

Abstract

This article analyzes the phenomenon of the expansion of Criminal Law in the Brazilian context, focusing on racial insult and its recent equivalence to the crime of racism established by Law nº. 14.532/2023. It is based on the assumption that strengthening criminal protection against discriminatory practices constitutes both an instrument for safeguarding human dignity and a symbolic form of inclusion for groups historically marginalized within the legal system. The general objective is to investigate the expansion of criminal protection and its capacity to be considered legitimate and effective, while the specific objectives seek to examine the normative and jurisprudential evolution of racial insult, discuss punitive expansionism, and analyze discursive legitimacy and systemic inclusion. The research adopts a qualitative methodology, with a bibliographical and analytical approach, grounded in criminal legislation, jurisprudence, and the critical theory of law. The central hypothesis maintains that the expansion of Criminal Law, although limited, may represent an inclusive advance if legitimized through democratic discursive processes and oriented by constitutional guarantees.